September 2007 Published by Scugog Lake Stewards Inc. Vol. 1 Number 3

Life On The Lake

10 REASONS

1. Lake Scugog is ba-sically healthy. It has no “freakish chemistry” as written in a recent, ir-responsible article. It has no restrictions placed on the number of fish that can be eaten, no special toxics or chemicals in its mud bottom or water -- other than what runs out of storm sewers in a few urban areas. The lake was never the home of a polluting industry. In terms of chemical pollu-tion it is healthier than the Great Lakes. This year’s carp die-off was not the result of unhealthy lake conditions other than abnor-mally high water temperatures in early spring. 2. Itsproblemsareknown,theyarebeingactivelyresearchedandplansforimprovementarebeingworkedon. The Town-ship, Kawartha Conservation, and others are thoroughly en-gaged in preserving the lake. We are fortunate to have this level of participation by the Township – something many other jurisdic-tions and lakes do not have. There are thousands of lakes and rivers throughout North America experiencing the same nutrient problems as Lake Scugog as the land becomes more populated. What it takes is education, involvement and action by all of us around Scugog, working together to keep the lake a viable and

enjoyable recreation area.3. Itisagreatfishinglake. According to the Ministry of Natu-ral Resources, Lake Scugog is the second most productive lake in Ontario. There are more fish per hectare of water surface here than all but one other lake. The health of the lake is shown in the incredible number of healthy fish in the lake. Professional anglers have called it a “fish factory.” Two of our Directors went fishing one evening recently and in less than two hours caught one muskellunge, two walleye, a smallmouth bass, a platter sized black crappie and numerous perch, bluegill, rock bass and pumpkinseed. Eight and a half months each year; Scugog is there for anglers! 4. Thereisanamazingrangeofwildlifetowatchandenjoy. Great blue herons, a large variety of ducks, muskrats, geese, swans, kingfishers, beaver, turtles, frogs, otters, osprey and black terns. We even find mink that enjoy the shoreline edge. (The presence of mink is noteworthy as they require unpolluted shorelines with a range of crayfish, minnows and frogs that they like to eat.)5. The lake generally haslowbacteriacounts.Areas subject to large amounts of run-off from urban areas, or goose populations, are an exception. (We do need better storm water manage-ment.) But most of the lake has low e-coli counts that make it safe for in-water ac-tivities. Our organic soil ge-ology generally consumes most bacteria within a short distance of septic beds and

to be grateful you live near Lake Scugog Badlakeweeds,stinkingdeadcarp,lowwaterlevels,dryconditionsanddistorted,negativepresshavebeenatrialforScugogresidentsandbusinessesthissummer.WeallneedtotakeadeepbreathandrememberthegreatthingsaboutLakeScugoganditsbeautifulenvironment.AsThanksgivingapproaches,theLakeStewardshavecompiledalistofneatthingsaboutScugogthatwecanbeveryproudofandthatstillmakethisaveryspecialplacetoliveandwork.

This issue of “Life on the Lake”was sponsored by the

BAAGWATING COMMUNITYASSOCIATION

part of the “Keepers of the Earth” traditionPlease turn to next page

FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2007 15 website: www.focusonscugog.com

ScugogLakeStewardsInc.isworkingonyourbehalfonthefollowingtopicsinvolvingimprovingthehealthofLakeScugog.ContacttheLakeStewardsforinformationortojoinatscugoglakestewards@yahoo.caor(905)985-0555.

The Official Plan

Water and Wastewater Management Plan

Lake Scugog Environmental Mgmt. Plan

Nonquon River Fisheries Mgmt. Plan

Trent-Severn Waterway Panel

Stormwater management best practices

Port Perry Downtown Community Imp. Plan

Durham Region West Nile Virus task force

Durham Reg. Invasive Species Task Force

Air quality improvement/tree planting

other sources. While the lake has a mud bottom that does not mean it is unclean, or unhealthy. It is precisely because of its bottom structure that it is home to such an incredible diversity of invertebrates, fish, birds and plant-eating wildlife.

6.Becauseofitsnaturalandexcel-lentbiologicaldiversity,problemin-sectsarekepttoaminimum. Lake Scugog is definitely not a “a giant swamp, ... which serves as a breed-ing ground for insects, “ as stated by a media outlet. Yes, it is a breeding ground for balanced insect diversity, many of which are predators of the pesky mosquitoes. This is not a neg-ative, it is a positive. Lake and even wetland conditions are definitely not suitable breeding grounds for mosqui-

toes that carry West Nile Virus.7. YouliveintheGTAandstillliveincottagecountry.Think of it, no Highway 400 to contend with on summer weekends. Quaint small towns, forests, lake and rivers -- Scugog has a country charm that is protected by the Oak Ridges Moraine and Greenbelt legislation. In a boat you can go to a beach, to Port Perry or other towns, go out for dinner, bird or nature watch,

scope out the houses on the shoreline, or just laze in the boat on a picnic. Best of all you can listen to the loons. There is nothing more relaxing and restful (nor Canadian cottage country feeling) than listening to the loons calling through the evening. Scugog is the summer home to several pairs. 8. LakeScugogisarecreationalplayground.Because Lake Scugog is so large, and most of the lake does not experience the problems of the weedy, shallow bays -- it remains great for boating, waterskiing and tubing, competitive rowing, kayaking, canoeing, and sail boarding. Hunting, fishing, bird-watching and nature walks along the water edge trails are great spring and fall activities. In winter, we enjoy snowmobiling, cross-country ski-ing, ice fishing and for some, dog sledding on the frozen lake. 9. LakeScugogisaculturalmecca. Because Lake Scugog is so beautiful and environmentally interesting, we have attracted a thriving artistic community that provides us with concerts, thea-tre, craft shows and art exhibits. It is an exciting place to live.10.Wehavethebestsunsetsandsunrisesanywhere!De-pending on whether you face East or West, you can’t help but marvel at the beauty of the sun rising or setting over its large expanse of water. Every majestic detail is mirrored in the lake. At these times, wildlife viewing is also at its best. Pull up a chair and enjoy! Weedsanddroughtsalloccurincycles.Itistimetocountourblessingsratherthandwellonourshorttermproblems.

10 REASONS

PORT PERRY OPTICALe y e g l a s s e s • s u n g l a s s e se y e g l a s s e s • s u n g l a s s e s

• p rescr ip t ion lab

• repa i rs • accessor ies

• eye examinat ion ar rangements

eyewear

30 WATER ST., PORT PERRY • 905-985-9388 • Toll Free: 1-877-533-2833

Continued from previous page

Need help withshoreline planning?

Call

Kawartha ConservationStewardship Co-ordinatorat 1-800-668-5722, ext. 224

for a free consultation

16 FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2007 focus@observerpub.ca

Lake Scugog, the Nonquon River and other creeks and rivers are being studied by

Kawartha Conservation’s Water Quality Specialist, Dr. Alexander Shulyarenko. He is gathering data for the development of a Lake Scugog Environmental Management Plan (LSEMP) that will guide the direction for suitable reme-

dial measures to begin to restore Lake Scugog to environmental health. With six lake, and eight monitoring stations in the rivers as well as multiple surface runoff and water flow monitoring stations and a rain/snow sampling station throughout the watershed, Dr. Shulyarenko is now able to outline where the excess phosphorus and nitrogen sources are that are deteriorating the quality of Lake Scugog and its tributaries.

PHOSPHORUS Phosphorus stimulates algae and aquat-ic plant growth. It can come from a wide range of sources, some natural and much more from what is known as “anthropo-genic” sources; meaning originating from human activities. Fifty-three percent of the phosphorus load into Lake Scugog is brought in by its rivers. This phosphorus overload is indi-cated to be from agricultural or landscape based chemical and manure fertilizer run-off, from residential septic systems, and urban stormwater. These are all anthropo-genic sources. The provincial water quality objective for total phosphorus in surface water is 30 ug/L. Only Fingerboard Creek and the Scugog River generally tested at or

below that guideline. Blackstock Creek, Cawkers Creek and the Nonquon River above Scugog Line 6 (above the sew-age lagoons) consistently tested at almost double the provincial limit, with the highest levels found in the water of Blackstock Creek. The second largest load of phosphorus -- 26% arrives with wind, rain and snow. 9% is believed to come from residential septic systems, and 8% from urban stormwater runoff. It is estimated that only 4% of the total phosphorus load per year in Lake Scugog comes from the Port Perry Sewage Treatment Plant.

NITROGEN At this point, the amount of nitrogen discharged with treated effluent from the lagoons exceeds current provincially set levels. So, for this reason, until a new

method is determined for reducing nitro-gen levels, growth cannot occur in the Port Perry STP lagoons. However, it is estimated that only 6% of the large yearly nitrogen load in the lake is from the treat-ment plant. Creeks and rivers that drain the agricul-tural and populated areas of the watershed bring the largest tonnages of nitrogen to the Lake. Nitrogen loading from septic systems around the lake was calculated on the basis of number of houses within a 50-meter lakeshore zone. As with all nitrogen, that produced by septic systems travels easily within the groundwater table -- something that phosphorus cannot do.

URBANMYTHDEBUNKED The urban myth is that ‘fixing’ the Port Perry lagoons would be the best answer for improving water quality in the Lake and the Nonquon. This would mean it is a solu-tion well out of the control of the average citizen. However, Dr. Shulyarenko looks at the problems of the Lake and the Nonquon River differently. “We have found that there is no one solution to improve water quality in the Nonquon or Lake Scugog. The over- abun-dant development of aquatic vegetation and algae is the result of excess nutrients that appear to come from a wide range of sources. It appears any solution to this problem will require everyone to consider their nutrient footprint whether they be gov-ernments, farmers, businesses or ordinary citizens.” For further information contact Kawartha Conservation at 1-800-668-5722, www.kawarthaconservation.com

Where do we start first?Where should work begin to fix the problems of the Lake?by Barbara Karthein, Scugog Lake Stewards

Alex Shulyarenko

10 REASONS

FOCUS - JUNE 2007 17 website: www.focusonscugog.com

An eight woman racing scull pulls into the dock at Rowing Club Bay with banks of Milfoil showing red in the background.

On the first day of June they popped their ugly heads above water. From that day on, their tops covered the sur-face of huge areas of water. Weeds were back with an in-creased vengeance on Lake Scugog.

There is no ques-tion, lake weeds were a hot topic this summer. Weeds that interfere with boating, make fish-ing (especially troll-ing) very difficult, disgust swimmers, and all in all leave a bad impression on tourists and locals alike. The sight of large mats of them are an eyesore es-pecially as the lake level continues to drop. However to blame all lake plants is both too general

and too simplistic. Our real problem on Scugog is one aquat-ic plant – Eurasian milfoil (myriophylum spicatum). Native to Europe, Asia and Africa, it showed up in North America in about the 1940’s and to Lake Scugog in the 1960’s, possibly arriving as a result of the aquarium trade. It is now causing enormous, unsightly problems across Cana-da and the U.S. because it is so aggressive, forming dense mats which clog waterways and crowd out native aquatic plants. Unfortunately, Lake Scugog provides the ideal habitat for this nasty invader. It thrives in water bodies with muddy bot-toms, proliferating specifically in areas of phosphorus and ni-trogen-rich run-off. Local stormwater run off from agriculture, lawns and urban areas provides a perfect fertilizer for them and guarantees a thick crop. To top off our challenge, on Lake Scugog we have heavy boat traffic. Boat propellers cut the plants into pieces. These pieces sink to the bottom and take root -- even small sec-

tions. In the water, these cuttings can remain healthy for weeks. Cuttings and spreading underground roots are the principal means of reproduction. Although Eurasian milfoil produces seeds, it appears that this is not a major method of its spread. Therefore harvesting does not reduce its num-bers. In fact it can aid in its spread when cuttings escape the collection equipment, sink to the bottom and take root. New factors are aiding the spread of this weed: Climate change is resulting in higher water temperatures and longer seasons, thus promoting growth. The arrival of Zebra Mus-sels that filter microscopic algae out of the lake water in-creasing its clarity thus allowing sun to reach deeper areas of lake bottom and encourage plant growth. Increased town-ship population density is no doubt also a factor contributing additional nutrients. We face a difficult challenge controlling Eurasian milfoil. The native Milfoil Weevil is its only bio-predator other than herbivore fish such as carp. These weevils, feed on the stems of the milfoil causing the plant to collapse and die. While in larval stage, the weevils are vo-racious eaters and quickly dispose of plants. They reproduce quickly and can breed three to five times per summer. However, the weevil must have shorelines that are natural and rich in leaf litter where they can dig in and over-winter. Lawns do not provide suit-ably insulated sites.

Whatareouroptions? As a Township, we must improve our stormwater drain-age systems to remove the excess nutrients that stimulate these weeds. We could also purchase and release addition-al bio-control weevils. The Township and individual shoreline property owners can create over-wintering conditions for the weevil by letting at least a meter depth of shoreline edge go natural or create wide attractive areas of naturalized lake-front with native shrubs, trees and flowers that will also pre-vent nutrient runoff. Last, we can count on the fact that nature abhors a vac-uum. Sooner or later, increased numbers of this or another predator will come and enjoy the feast.

The Lake Weed Story

Milfoil Weevil

EurasianWater Milfoil

18 FOCUS - JUNE 2007 focus@observerpub.ca